Chapter 30: Thirty Minutes

Naomi grabbed her bag and hurried inside. The lounge was elegant. The seating areas were spaced far enough apart.

Callum was already there. She spotted him in one of the middle seating areas. He looked exactly as polished as he had the first time.

Naomi hurried toward him. He noticed her immediately and stood.

"Hello."

"Hi—"

He leaned in. Before Naomi could figure out what was happening, he kissed one cheek. Then the other.

"Oh... oh..." She chuckled awkwardly.

What the hell was going on? The last time they had properly spoken, he had practically informed her that her employment was embarrassing his family.

Today, she was receiving European greetings.

"Hi..."

Callum smiled. "Please, sit." He pulled out her chair.

"Thank you." She sat slowly.

Was this man bipolar?

Callum returned to his side of the table. Before sitting, he picked up a bouquet of flowers. Naomi’s brows lifted. He held it toward her. "For you."

Flowers too?

Good Lord.

She accepted the bouquet carefully. "Oh my, you shouldn’t have. They’re beautiful." She placed them carefully beside her.

Callum sat. "It’s nice to see you."

She smiled cautiously. "You too."

Maybe.

She still wasn’t sure what version of him she was currently dealing with. She checked the time on her phone. "I have about thirty minutes before I need to head to my other job."

Callum nodded immediately. "Yes, yes, of course."

That surprised her too.

No complaint?

No lecture about how his future wife should not be running between jobs?

He gestured toward the menu. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"No, I’m fine, thank you."

"You’re sure?"

"Yes." She wanted to keep this quick.

"I... uh... spoke with my father about our last discussion. He thinks the timeline is acceptable. As long as we marry immediately after your agreement with Mr Heathcliffe ends. My father understands that dissolving the marriage immediately may be difficult, particularly considering Mr. Heathcliffe’s position and the publicity surrounding it."

That was a very polite way of saying Dorian Heathcliffe could make everyone’s life miserable if he wanted to.

"He would prefer that we avoid unnecessary conflict. Once the six months are complete and your divorce is finalized, we can proceed with our original arrangement."

"I... uh... about that... I do not think there is any need for that anymore. The purpose of my engagement to you was so I could get some funds from your family in return to pay off some of my debts." Naomi twisted her fingers together beneath the table. "Recent events have changed my situation and there will be no need for us to, um... get married."

"Oh?" Callum said.

Naomi opened her mouth to explain further. Then stopped. Her eyes caught on someone two tables away.

A very familiar frame.

"Oh my God..." she whispered. She would recognize that stiff way of sitting anywhere.

He sat with a very, very beautiful woman. Naomi’s eyes narrowed. The woman was leaning toward him, laughing at something he had said, one hand resting comfortably on his arm.

Callum frowned. "Do I have something on my face?"

"The piece of shit!"

Callum’s eyebrows shot up so high Naomi almost became concerned for them. "Excuse me?"

Naomi snapped her attention back to him. "No! No! No! Not you." She forced a smile. "Just... never mind. Shall we continue?" She leaned forward quickly. "So, yes, the engagement."

"Uh... I will have to speak to my father about the change of plans."

Did the man have no independent thought in his entire body? Did everything require clearance from his father?

Father, Naomi has rejected the marriage arrangement. What are my thoughts on this?

Naomi kept the irritation off her face. "Of course. I am so sorry for any inconvenience." She sounded sincere. Her eyes, however, had already wandered back toward Dorian.

Maybe this was his day off plan.

Callum continued speaking. "Mr. Whitmore did assure my father just last night that everything was still according to plan."

"Uhn uhn... uhn uhn..." She nodded distractedly.

"My father was under the impression that after the six-month period—"

Dorian stood along with the woman. She slipped her hand around Dorian’s arm.

Why was she holding him? Why was he allowing it? What happened to the fidelity clause?

Naomi quickly turned her face away. She reached for her handbag and began searching through it.

"Did you lose something?"

"Lip balm."

Callum looked confused. She shoved one hand deeper into her bag. Dorian and his date approached.

She kept her head bent until they passed before she slowly turned. He was dressed casually in a polo shirt and jeans.

The woman beside him looked perfect in a beautiful mini dress and gorgeous heels.

Callum kept talking. Something about timing.

Naomi nodded. "Uhn uhn."

"And naturally my family would want—"

Behind her, Dorian and the woman reached the entrance. He stopped, turned his head. Naomi followed his gaze.

The Range Rover was parked directly outside the café lounge. Naomi’s stomach dropped.

"Oh shit!"

Dorian turned around and walked straight back into the lounge. This was exactly the kind of situation that required a trapdoor beneath the table.

Across from her, Callum was still talking. "I don’t understand what is going on with you, Naomi."

She dragged her attention back to him. "I’m sorry... I’m sorry... it’s just—"

"Naomi?" Dorian’s voice came from above her.

Naomi looked up. "Hey..."

Dorian stood beside the table. Up close, he somehow looked even more annoyed than he usually looked.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

His gaze shifted slowly toward the man sitting across from her and then to the flowers. "Who is this?" he asked her.

Callum beat her to the response. "I’m Callum Sterling. Miss Bennett’s fiancé."

Naomi wished very badly that he had phrased that differently.

"Oh, that’s funny, Mr. Sterling."

Nothing about his face suggested he found any of this funny.

"Because I am her husband. A husband she is leaving with right now."

Was he serious? She folded her arms.

"Don’t you have a date waiting for you outside?"